Adore Delano, the feisty drag queen rocker, graces the cover of the first-ever Pride issue of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-celebrated publication Alternative Press Magazine, Adore’s first international cover. The Pride issue connects history’s big dots to today’s new awareness to open minds and lengthen playlists. It’s an updated general overview for new music fans who may not know the history of LGBTQ performers in rock n’ roll.

She joins the ranks of many other rocker greats who landed their first magazine cover with Alternative Press over the past 30 years, including Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, twenty-one pilots, Nirvana, Oasis, Radiohead and—one of Adore’s most significant influences—Marilyn Manson.

Adore candidly opens up about her ongoing legal battles, the emotional turmoil from losing her dad last year, what the dating scene is like for a queen, the impact Trump’s immigration crackdown is having on her family and her gripe with the person in whose footsteps she most directly follows, RuPaul.

Earlier this year, in a profile for The Guardian, RuPaul disclosed that he likely would not allow a trans contestant who’d had gender confirmation surgery or begun medically transitioning to compete on his VH1 reality television competition show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Adore, who competed on the show’s sixth season and narrowly missed taking the crown, tells AltPress, “…seeing that the fans are getting younger and younger, and the culture of drag is becoming a lot more accepting, it’s a really fucked-up way of thinking. Drag really starts with trans women.

“Those comments are very cringe-y, and every time (RuPaul) says something like that, I end up on the phone with some of my homegirls from the show, and I’m like, ‘Girl… she needs to chill.’”

When asked if those kinds of comments make her personally question RuPaul’s cultural legacy, Adore confirmed that it does. “It makes me question, of course! It makes everybody question. We’re all on the phone together saying, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ We can chalk it up to age, but (RuPaul) grew up in the midst of drag, as well. My friend and I were on the phone that morning, and we were like, ‘Is she tired? Was she sleeping when she tweeted that? What’s going on?’”

It is brash comments like these that made Adore Delano a natural choice for the first Pride issue of AltPress. Says General Manager/CFO Joe Scarpelli, “While other artists are scared to tackle truth for fear of losing opportunities, Adore demands respect by addressing her feelings head on and standing up for what she believes is right.”

AltPress founder/CEO Mike Shea says he’s seen a profound shift toward acceptance of the LGBTQ community from the alt-rock population and the music industry as a whole. He credits the gay marriage fight. “Suddenly, artists — from metal dudes to hip-hop moguls and even top country stars from red states — came out in support of the community. Supporting the gay community, and even being gay, was no longer considered a business risk and that ultimately changed the game.”

The LGBTQ community in rock indeed isn’t a new thing. From Little Richard in the ’50s to Laura Jane Grace in the 21st century, some of the most exciting and inspiring music being made in the name of rock has come from quarters far and away from the constructs of binary gender.

Additional LGBTQ musicians featured in the Pride issue are Julien Baker (a Southern, Christian, lesbian rocker), Panic! At The Disco, Lynn Gunn of PVRIS, and Tobi Duncan of the U.K. melodic hardcore band Trash Boat, among others.

Adore Delore is on Twitter and Instagram@AdoreDelano, on Facebook @ AdoreDelanoOfficial and on YouTube and Snapchat @DannyNoriega.